April 11, 2018 • 28 mins
This textured vegetarian protein is fairly new to a lot of the world, but tempeh's history goes way back. Anney and Lauren dig in, plus explore the amazing fungal chemistry that makes tempeh tasty, nutritious, and safe to eat.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to food Stuff. I'm Anny Reeves and
I'm Lauren vocal Bum and today to make it up
to you for doing a whole episode about bacon and
corn beef. Oh yeah, like kind of rud in row.
We're talking about a about a vegetarian protein source. We are,
and it is a really fun one. It was a
fun one to research. Oh absolutely, I'm super excited about it. Yeah,
(00:30):
it's Tempe, Tempe, Tempa. I've always said Tempa because that's
what it looks like to me, but apparently it's pronounced Tempe. Yes,
I believe that is true. And there's I've been trying.
I've been campaigning for a tiny Tempa Tempe joke, but
I don't think anyone will get it. For those two
people out there that did, I feel you, we're on
(00:51):
the same page, all right. So Tempe what is it?
It is very fun to explain. It's sort of a
patty made up of cooked and partially fermented soybeans. Timpe
can be used in a more general sense, referring to
a wide range of mold fermented foods. That is a
(01:12):
fantastic phrase, but for the most part it's used to
refer to soy Tempei in the United States. Many brands
that sell Tempe add other lagoons or grains or seeds
in with the soy, like barley, black beans, or sesame
seeds to add to add to the texture and flavor
rights taste wise, it's kind of nutty and earthy, mushroomy.
It's got some texture to it, and it's good and
(01:33):
sandwiches and stir fries. Yeah, so I Tempe is sort
of like a chewy, sprinky, soft burger patty. The soybeans
in it our whole or had really and bound together
with kind of softer stuff raw. It looks sort of
like nougat with nuts, or I guess like a slab
of really dense mac and cheese. Yeah. Tempe has a
(01:54):
stronger savory flavor than Tofu does, and tastes a little
bit less greeny or beanie than most tofu. It's actually
my favorite meat substitute. Oh. I was just about to
ask if you like Yeah, if you're going for a
vaguely meaty texture, maybe it's just tied with satan, which
is a wheat product and a whole other episode. Oh
my goodness, yes, are you? Are you a Tempe fan?
(02:16):
I've only had it a couple of times, and after
doing the research on this, I want to rectify that
I did like it every time I had it. Yeah. Yeah,
There's there's a lot of different ways you can cook it.
It can it can be boiled or fried. After you
get past fried, why why are you doing anything else
with it? Yeah, crumbled into soups or stews. Yeah. I
went to this dinner in Chicago and it was an
all vegetarian vegan. It was an all vegan dino and
(02:39):
I've been trying to remember the name of it forever,
So if any listeners know, it was near Fisherman's Warf
That's San Francisco. That that big place with the with
the ferrest wee or I've never hung out in Chicago, Okay,
well they have a big doc thing and it was
near there and it was a vegan restaurant and I
had Tim pay for the first time, and I remember
(02:59):
really enjoying it. Anyway, listeners, please write in if you
know what place I'm talking back to Tempe in our
episode and not random remembrances of any Tempe originates in Indonesia.
The name itself is Indonesian and is especially popular on
Java beginning in at least eighteen seventy five. The Indonesian
spelling of Tempe usually involved an accent on the final
(03:22):
E and no H, but when Malaysia and Indonesia modernized
their languages to make them more similar in nineteen seventy two,
the accent was dropped to make sure they didn't pronounce
it like temp. European and English languages added the H
on the end. The spelling shows up way earlier in
Germany in the first written English spelling didn't appear until
(03:43):
nineteen fifty. And if we're talking about health, Tempe is
a popular vegetarian and vegan food, particularly as a meat substitute.
A three ounce serving boast sixteen grams of protein. For comparison,
the same amount of steak only has ten more grams
than that. It's fairly high in calcium and iron, and
has zero cholesterol. It is similar to tofu but less processed.
(04:05):
It's not particularly low in fat, but it's got some
of those good omega three's and omega sixes that you want,
and along with the protein, it's fat content will help
fill you up and keep you going. M hmmmm. The
fermentation process that tempe undergoes increases the amount of easily
bioavailable vitamins and minerals in the soy or whatever else
(04:27):
the tempe is made of, meaning that you will get
more out of those based ingredients once they're fermented and
therefore partially broken down already, than you would get if
they had not been fermented. So that's nifty. That is nifty.
What else is nifty? Is I remember the name of
the Chicago thing. It's Navy Pier. I don't remember the restaurant,
but I remember it's not Fisherman's. Is Navy Pier. So
(04:51):
don't yell at me about that, okay? Perfect study out
of the University of Alabama suggested that soy proteins may
have anti inflammatory properties and possibly even anti tumor effects,
as long as you don't go overboard, and of course,
as always on this show, more science needs to be done. Yeah,
for a little bit more about the health of soy
(05:11):
products in general. You can see our Tofu episode. I
do a pretty big breakdown of of all of that,
and the answer is essentially, don't be too afraid of it,
but don't eat it maybe every meal? Yeah, maybe? Yeah.
Bodies are conflicts or more science needs to be done. Absolutely,
But now let's run some numbers. Numbers, um, y'all. As
(05:36):
it turns out, the tempay industry is holding its cards
real close to its chest. Without spending four grand on
a detailed market report, I can tell you that consumption
of plant based foods meant to replace meat based foods
is on the rise in the United States as sales
of Tofu and Tempa together we're worth about million dollars
(05:57):
and expected to increase and and are reported in that one.
Mr Hendoko, the manager of a Tempe producing co op
village in West Jakarta, expected that and I quote, with
government support and media promotion, in twenty years time, Tempe
will conquer the world. Huh. I don't like that, I do. Yeah,
(06:19):
good for you, Tempe. And now it's time to talk
about mold. Wait what Yeah, aren't we talking about mold?
Oh yeah, we're talking about mold. We are. But first
we're going to pause for a quick break for a
word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsor. Yes, okay, So,
(06:47):
as we mentioned, this is a mold modified fermented product.
Take it away, Lauren. Yes, she's so excited. Ah, so
is this the first time we've gone in depth on mold.
I I mean we we we covered fungus during our
episode on mushrooms, and this is sort of an offshoot
of that, which is sort of a fungus fun I
(07:09):
am so excited it is. And we did get to
try that mold. Remember when we did that, right, absolutely, Yeah,
one of the mold culture starters out at Homon and Finch.
Thank you. With that pot is combined, we can remember
the name of one of these restaurants we're talking about. Okay,
So the easiest way to explain how the mold and
tempe works is by explaining how you go about making tempe.
(07:33):
And I'm going to roll with the example of soy
tempe for simplicities sake here. So okay, you start with
soybeans raw or dried, though if they're dried, you have
to soak them first to make sure that they are
soft enough to dhole, because you've got to get rid
of that tough seed coat or hull to make the
nutritious bits of the beans available for the fungus to eat. Beans.
(07:58):
You cook the hold beans until they're all dente, then
cool to room temperature, and then you're ready to grow
some tasty, tasty mold. The same way that you would
add a starter culture to milk to make yogurt, or
two dough to make sour dough bread, or to plant
juice to make beer or wine. You add a starter
culture to soybeans to make tempe. You're looking for the
(08:20):
microorganisms to develop the flavors and textures that you want
in the finished product. The starter culture might be a
dried mix that you've bought, or it might be a
little bit of your last batch of tempe. Again, the
same as in sour dough production. Additional microbes like yeasts
or lactic acid bacteria are often a part of the
starter culture for tempe, but let's concentrate on the mold
(08:42):
for right now. Let's two specific types of mold fungus
are usually used to make tempe. Both in the Ryzopus
genus are only goosporus and are a rise a rise
a pus. By the way, we were talking about this
before we started, and our are amazing engineer for the day,
Tyler Klang pointed out that it sounds like a character
(09:05):
from ThunderCats. It does, and it does, and also going
to be a character in the upcoming the dunker script.
And if you've forgotten what the dunker is, we haven't.
Oh no, no, never forget the dunker. Okay, So Rise
Rispus mold. As it turns out, these types of mold
(09:25):
are really useful in food production for a few different reasons. First,
they break down some plant cells so that they can
eat the nutrients within, which also happens to make those
nutrients more available for us to digest. Second, their poop
is just hella tasty and nutritious. They naturally excrete some
compounds that we humans registers flavor, and some that our
(09:49):
bodies can use to feed our own cells. Mold poop,
mold poop a new bingo bingo card entry. Perhaps I
hope we could of talking more about mold poop. I know, right, Oh,
I think we will. Third, they don't want too much
competition from other microorganisms, so they can produce antifungal and
(10:09):
antibacterial compounds, which helps keep harmful microbes out of your
finished food product. So just like high fives all around,
Rise of Puss, Yeah we do. So you add your
starter culture to your cooked soybeans, then create an environment
(10:30):
for the microbes to do their work in a controlled way.
That's going to be a mostly sealed container, like a
zip block bag with a few holes poked in it,
or tightly wrapped banana leaves if you're going traditional. That
keeps the humidity up and prevents too many free flowing
microbes from getting in there. And rise of puss likes
to grow between about eighty five and ninety degrees fahrenheit
(10:52):
that's about two celsius, so you'll want to keep the
temperature consistently in that range. The rise of puss will
grow on the soybeans, feeding off of them and producing
shoots or fungal filaments or the micellium. If you listened
to our episode on mushrooms. In fungus, the mycelium is
(11:12):
sort of the vegetative or root system of the organism.
In mushrooms, it's what spreads out underground, which the mushrooms
then shoot up from. But in your tempe, it just
covers and binds the soybeans together. Over the course of
a day or two, your soybeans will be completely covered
by the mycelium and firmly bound together into a cake,
(11:33):
and then it's it's ready to eat or to cook
and eat if you would like, because it can be
a little bit better when it's raw. So uh yeah,
tempe tastes sort of mushroom me because it's partially a
fungus makes sense, which might sound a little bit gross,
but it's really so cool. You're you're creating proto mushroom
to eat along with your soybeans. Yeah, that's pretty pretty rad.
(11:56):
And also it looks cool. It looks so cool. Yeah,
and there are recipes online if you would like to
try to do this yourself. The kitchen has a really
thorough one that I'll try to remember to link somewhere
on social Ah y'all. I I get so excited about fermentation.
And what always gets me about fermented products is that
(12:16):
humans noticed that they happen and that the results are
tasty without having any idea why, and then spent years
and probably centuries and probably millennia unwittingly, but like really
effectively developing and farming these colonies of microorganisms too to
make their product safer and tastier. And now science can
(12:37):
tell us more or less how it works, and it's
only even more badass. Yeah, it's beautiful. It is. Thank you,
mold poop. Thank you mold poop. Um. Well, let's talk
about the history of this mold poop. Yeah, but first
let's take one more quick break for a word from
(12:58):
our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsor. Yes, okay,
So the history on Tempe is difficult to pin down,
(13:18):
and there isn't a lot easily available research on it
in English, at least from what I could ascertain from
from from what I've read, a lot of the ancient
stuff has kind of been lost to the ages, because
it's certainly not that that the people making it weren't
writing about stuff. They just weren't writing about their food
(13:38):
that much, right, But food historians think it originated on
Java in Indonesia around eight hundred, but it could be
up to one thousand years older. Once I read it's
even two thousand years older. Yeah, that's fairly large range.
The first written mentioned from the region day expect to
(14:00):
eighteen fifteen C. However, this mentioned is describing allegedly accurately
the period from sixteen thirteen to sixteen forty five. Yeah,
it's really the large range of possibility, it really is.
I was kind of staring dumbfounded at my computer. What
the reason food historians believe it may go back way.
(14:22):
Further is that it has it's so widespread on the
island of Java. Even the most remote areas have several varieties,
and it's such an important element of local cuisine. Forty
one thousand shops were using up to seventeen indigenous seeds
and press cakes by the nineteen seventies. For instance, Yeah,
written records of soybeans in Indonesia go back to seventeen
(14:45):
forty seven s, but soybeans probably were introduced with the
opening of trade routes to China in one thousand CE.
Around that time, the Chinese were using mold to make
their soy sauce in a similar method to the one
used to make ten pay. It could be that the
Chinese brought over this process and it evolved in Indonesia
from there. There's so many possibilities. Originally, tempe was most
(15:09):
likely made using high protein cake by products of the
oil pressing process for things like peanuts or coconuts, and
also the soy pulp left behind when making soy products
like tofu and various other agricultural by products that otherwise
would go to feeding livestock or to waste. An article
in Ninete described the process of making tempe pretty thoroughly.
(15:34):
Soybeans were parboiled, soaked for a couple of days, and
water steamed and spread out on bamboo trays and covered
with banana leaves. Once that time had passed, some of
the leftover mold residue from the previous batch was mixed
in and the banana leaves were loosely replaced. The author
noted that during fermentation the temperature increased anywhere from ten
to twelve degrees celsius. After some remolding a little more weighting,
(15:58):
the tempe was sliced and ready for the selling. About
tempey made with coconut press cake, it's sort of notorious
for sometimes going toxic and causing food poisoning and or death.
Oh yeah. The first written case of this was reported
in eighteen ninety five by the Dutch, but the local
said it had been around since they started making tempey
(16:19):
with coconut press cake. During times of economic hardships, these
cases would increase since people would attempt to make their
own tempay with coconut at home. Ten to twelve cases
a year reported during Indonesia's economic depression from nineteen thirty
one to nineteen thirty seven. Local legend was the angry
spirit or goddess of the Indian Ocean was behind it.
(16:41):
In the years from nineteen thirties three to nineteen thirty eight,
nine studies were published about the poisonings and the bacterium
they discovered was causing it. And I read them and
it was interesting, but also my brain was like, nope,
this this is a lot more in depth than I
was intending. A couple of studies published in the early
(17:02):
nineteen tens and twenties found that the protein in Timpei
was high quality, a good compliment to rice, and that
Tempe had a good amount of vitamins A, B one
and B twelve. Previous to that and after really not
much scientific evaluation of Tempei took place because it was
seen as an inferior food stuff for the poor. The
sentiment lasted even after Indonesia secured their independence, with the
(17:25):
president of the country from nineteen forty five to nineteen
sixty seven making statements like don't be a Tempe nation
or don't be a temp A scientists. During World War Two,
Indonesia and many surrounding countries fell under Japanese control and
Tempei became a vital food source for both the indigenous
population and prisoners of war, despite a lot of the
(17:47):
native starter cultures being lost in the war. I know
a written account from a prisoner of war credits Tempe
for preventing many deaths. The fermentation of the soybeans made
them more easily digestible for the sick prisoners of war
as well. After a long violent conflict with the Dutch,
Indonesian independence was recognized in nineteen forty nine. Some survivors
(18:12):
during and after the war chose to immigrate all around
the world, bringing Tempei with them. Tempey wasn't commercially produced
in Europe until sometime between nineteen forty six and nineteen
fifty nine. Eighteen tempe producing companies were operating out of
Europe by four and if you're like me, that's that's
very recent. I was kind of surprised. Yeah. In the US,
(18:33):
the first written mention of tempey appeared in nineteen forty six,
and Indonesian immigrants in the US produced the first commercially
available tempai in nineteen sixty one. Starting in the nineteen sixties,
the USDA and Cornell University started doing research on Tempe,
which ignited timpey scientific interests in Indonesia, inspiring headlines and
Indonesian newspapers like Tempe steps up to a higher throne.
(18:57):
These studies suggested that rise of push they go sporus
may be effective against the bacteria behind staff and other
gram positive bacteria. Here's my favorite finding, though. A study
out of Berkeley in nineteen seventy one concluded that despite
being made from beings, Tempei did not cause flatulence. That's right,
(19:19):
what's that kids saying? Beings beings a musical fruit. The
more you eat, the more you tube. Kids know it.
But not Tempe. Yeah, the molds already eaten all of
the flatulens causing compounds. Thank you, mold, Thank you. From
nine eighty four, the number of American facilities producing Tempe
went from thirteen to fifty three. Yeah. In nineteen sixty one,
(19:43):
only the second scientific look at Tempe out of Indonesia
came with this quote. The time will come when Indonesians
will be proud of their Tempe in the same way
as the Japanese are proud of their sake, the French
people of their wine, Italians of their macaroni, Indians of
their curry. The Russians of their caviare the Dutch of
their cheese. Yeah. In part thanks to the efforts of
(20:05):
the studies author a search for ways to improve traditional
tempe starters in Indonesia began in the sixties. As we
touched on the TOFI episode, the US started exporting a
ton or one fifty six hundred thousand tons in nineteen
seventy six, and about double that by three of soybeans
to Indonesia. Before that, tempe had been traditionally made out
(20:28):
of domestically grown soybeans, which were more resistant to going
rancid than the US variety, and they were larger. Well.
The U s labriety was larger, cheaper, and cleaner. Still,
sixty of imported US soybeans went to making Tempei and Indonesia.
Behind the manufacturing of tempe were forty one thousand, two
hundred and one producers, a good portion of them small
(20:50):
and family run. The tempe industry employed one twenty thousand
people and amounted to a retail value at the time
of eight five million dollars. From nineteen fifty one to
nineteen seventy six, seven thousand, two sixteen cases of poisoning
from coconut Tempei were reported in eighties, six deaths. In
(21:12):
nineteen seventy six, a reader's research project sent sixty people
throughout the U s a kit to grown their own
Tempei with a questionnaire for feedback, and the feedback was
almost universally positive. Prevention Magazine published an article in nineteen
seventy seven predicting that Tempe may become the most popular
product of the soy boom, and that quote Tempe was
(21:35):
on its way up. Other health publications of the time
predicted the same one, writing that Tempe appears to be
the most likely candidate for americanization. One health organization even
espoused the benefits of Tempe and the diets of cancer patients.
I'm pretty sure that magazine was set up entirely to
do that, though. Yeah, I couldn't get a real feel
for it, but my suspicions um. The first book describing
(21:59):
how to set up come Tempe production plants was published
in nineteen eighty, the same year the world's first commercial
Tempe burgers were introduced. Yeah. In nine two Tempe starters
could be found on Indonesian grocery shelves. One of my
favorite Tempe ad slogans all the sizzle, none of the steak.
(22:20):
Love it. If we look at Japan, we don't see
any written references until nineteen But when soy milk surge
and popularity in Japan in nineteen three, so too did
the popularity of Tempe and production grew correspondingly. A year later,
Japan at the largest Tempe company in the world. Yeah,
there was sort of a frenemy thing that happened with
(22:43):
NATO and Timpe fermented soy products versus fermented soy products.
Yeah um. An article published in nine eight three came
with this headline NATO that doesn't smell even young people
like it. Okay, And remember that Indonesian tempe researcher from earlier.
(23:05):
He returned to his home country and after researching in
the US and wrote of the occasion, Tempe is no
longer considered in an inferior food. Nowadays, Indonesians are as
proud of their Tempe as the Japanese are of sake
and French of their wine. Exclamation point warms my heart
so much. It is it is something to be proud of. Yeah,
(23:30):
it's a I mean, it's it's a delicious and useful food.
It's cheap and it's real nifty. It really is. I
wish that more of the history was available and clear,
So get on it, anyone out there who has the
ability to do so. Yeah, we would greatly appreciate it
here at Food Stuff, we very much would. Yes, but
(23:50):
that brings us to listen. Yes it does, it does
episode listen to mail h Okay Jason wrote back around
the turn of the century, I had a gig working
at a little bar that featured several drinks that ended
(24:10):
in teeny lemon dropped martini, Apple tini, choco tini rimmed
with hot chocolate powder, no less. You get the idea.
This was also around the time when sex in the
city was getting really big. From the time I started
to the time I left, there was a noticeable increase
in the number of cosmopolitans we served every night. If
(24:31):
you have never had a cosmo, it is simply vodka,
orange flavored liqueur and a splash of cranberry juice. To
give it the pink color. We used slightly better ingredients
absolute citron and controux, but it is a pretty stiff drink.
If you are more used to sweet and fruity cocktails
and being compassionate and customer oriented people that had spent
(24:53):
a number of years in the restaurant industry. On slower nights,
when a table ordered around of Cosmos, we would place
bets on him and he would be sent back because
the drinks were too strong. While it was never on
the menu, we ended up offering a Cosmo pineton where
we would add some pineapple juice and grenadine for those
that discovered Carrie Bradshaw's favorite drink was a bit too
(25:16):
much for them. It also seems we had a bit
of a Churchill fan that's regular at the bar. He
would order a dry martini with these instructions, just whisper
the word for muth as she poured the gin. Please.
I definitely I responded this email and I told him
that I had a friend and she turned twenty one.
I can't remember her, but we were at a bar
and I'd never seen sex in the city, but all
(25:38):
the rest of them had, and they all ordered Cosmos
and they definitely were like, oh, oh, this is a
class vodka. This is very strong, and they all politely asked,
can you put a little something in here? Yeah? I
think I got like a Bahama breeze or something much
more gentle. These are one young day. These young days,
(26:00):
you're still discovering what you like. Oh. Absolutely, yeah. And
I don't think I had a Cosmo until after I
started watching Sex in the City because one of my
boyfriends really liked it. And but that was like after
the show had been off the air for a couple
of years, so I was old enough to appreciate a
glass full of vodka. Um, Megan wrote, I just recently
(26:25):
discovered your podcast, actually sort of just discovered podcasts in general. Huh.
And I've been listening through to at least two episodes
a day. Thank you. I just finished the Pineapple episode.
I was surprised that SpongeBob was the only example of
Pineapple in the media. Everyone in Canada emailed you about Caesar's,
but not everyone in Canada emailed you about a Nana's. No,
(26:48):
no one did. You're the first, I believe. And here
she inserted a picture. Yeah, and I tried to scare
Lauren with it, but it didn't work. Yes, sorry, I
already done got scared by it at my desk. Um,
are you trying to think of the words to describe it,
I am it's it's this pineapple puppet. It doesn't look pleasant.
She looks like how I imagine someone who's been drinking
(27:12):
and smoking their entire life hard and never sleeps like
picture that in a pineapple, but as a pineapple also
is like big green lips and half lidded eyes, a sad,
droopy pineapple crown of hair. This creepy anthropomorphic pineapple taught
(27:34):
us to speak French on a program we watch in
elementary school on those old TVs on cards called tele Francois.
There are clips on YouTube. Check it out. Yeah, totally
worth checking out. I it's delightful. I thank you, Yes,
thank you. I was shocked and then very pleased. It's
(28:00):
horrifying and perfect. So yes, definitely go look that up.
Should you be so intrigued? Um, and thanks to both
of them for writing us. You too can send us
an email. We would love to hear from you. Keep
sending the pictures of pets with food names. Please do please,
day please, it's the very best. It is. Our email
(28:23):
is a food stuff at how stuff works dot com,
where also on social media you can find us on
Facebook and Twitter at food stuff hs W and on
Instagram at food stuff. We hope to hear from you.
Thank you so much to the aforementioned Tyler Claying, our
audio engineer for the day, and our super producer Dylan Fagin.
Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots
(28:43):
mar good things are coming your way
Hello, and welcome to food Stuff. I'm Anny Reeves and
I'm Lauren vocal Bum and today to make it up
to you for doing a whole episode about bacon and
corn beef. Oh yeah, like kind of rud in row.
We're talking about a about a vegetarian protein source. We are,
and it is a really fun one. It was a
fun one to research. Oh absolutely, I'm super excited about it. Yeah,
(00:30):
it's Tempe, Tempe, Tempa. I've always said Tempa because that's
what it looks like to me, but apparently it's pronounced Tempe. Yes,
I believe that is true. And there's I've been trying.
I've been campaigning for a tiny Tempa Tempe joke, but
I don't think anyone will get it. For those two
people out there that did, I feel you, we're on
(00:51):
the same page, all right. So Tempe what is it?
It is very fun to explain. It's sort of a
patty made up of cooked and partially fermented soybeans. Timpe
can be used in a more general sense, referring to
a wide range of mold fermented foods. That is a
(01:12):
fantastic phrase, but for the most part it's used to
refer to soy Tempei in the United States. Many brands
that sell Tempe add other lagoons or grains or seeds
in with the soy, like barley, black beans, or sesame
seeds to add to add to the texture and flavor
rights taste wise, it's kind of nutty and earthy, mushroomy.
It's got some texture to it, and it's good and
(01:33):
sandwiches and stir fries. Yeah, so I Tempe is sort
of like a chewy, sprinky, soft burger patty. The soybeans
in it our whole or had really and bound together
with kind of softer stuff raw. It looks sort of
like nougat with nuts, or I guess like a slab
of really dense mac and cheese. Yeah. Tempe has a
(01:54):
stronger savory flavor than Tofu does, and tastes a little
bit less greeny or beanie than most tofu. It's actually
my favorite meat substitute. Oh. I was just about to
ask if you like Yeah, if you're going for a
vaguely meaty texture, maybe it's just tied with satan, which
is a wheat product and a whole other episode. Oh
my goodness, yes, are you? Are you a Tempe fan?
(02:16):
I've only had it a couple of times, and after
doing the research on this, I want to rectify that
I did like it every time I had it. Yeah. Yeah,
There's there's a lot of different ways you can cook it.
It can it can be boiled or fried. After you
get past fried, why why are you doing anything else
with it? Yeah, crumbled into soups or stews. Yeah. I
went to this dinner in Chicago and it was an
all vegetarian vegan. It was an all vegan dino and
(02:39):
I've been trying to remember the name of it forever,
So if any listeners know, it was near Fisherman's Warf
That's San Francisco. That that big place with the with
the ferrest wee or I've never hung out in Chicago, Okay,
well they have a big doc thing and it was
near there and it was a vegan restaurant and I
had Tim pay for the first time, and I remember
(02:59):
really enjoying it. Anyway, listeners, please write in if you
know what place I'm talking back to Tempe in our
episode and not random remembrances of any Tempe originates in Indonesia.
The name itself is Indonesian and is especially popular on
Java beginning in at least eighteen seventy five. The Indonesian
spelling of Tempe usually involved an accent on the final
(03:22):
E and no H, but when Malaysia and Indonesia modernized
their languages to make them more similar in nineteen seventy two,
the accent was dropped to make sure they didn't pronounce
it like temp. European and English languages added the H
on the end. The spelling shows up way earlier in
Germany in the first written English spelling didn't appear until
(03:43):
nineteen fifty. And if we're talking about health, Tempe is
a popular vegetarian and vegan food, particularly as a meat substitute.
A three ounce serving boast sixteen grams of protein. For comparison,
the same amount of steak only has ten more grams
than that. It's fairly high in calcium and iron, and
has zero cholesterol. It is similar to tofu but less processed.
(04:05):
It's not particularly low in fat, but it's got some
of those good omega three's and omega sixes that you want,
and along with the protein, it's fat content will help
fill you up and keep you going. M hmmmm. The
fermentation process that tempe undergoes increases the amount of easily
bioavailable vitamins and minerals in the soy or whatever else
(04:27):
the tempe is made of, meaning that you will get
more out of those based ingredients once they're fermented and
therefore partially broken down already, than you would get if
they had not been fermented. So that's nifty. That is nifty.
What else is nifty? Is I remember the name of
the Chicago thing. It's Navy Pier. I don't remember the restaurant,
but I remember it's not Fisherman's. Is Navy Pier. So
(04:51):
don't yell at me about that, okay? Perfect study out
of the University of Alabama suggested that soy proteins may
have anti inflammatory properties and possibly even anti tumor effects,
as long as you don't go overboard, and of course,
as always on this show, more science needs to be done. Yeah,
for a little bit more about the health of soy
(05:11):
products in general. You can see our Tofu episode. I
do a pretty big breakdown of of all of that,
and the answer is essentially, don't be too afraid of it,
but don't eat it maybe every meal? Yeah, maybe? Yeah.
Bodies are conflicts or more science needs to be done. Absolutely,
But now let's run some numbers. Numbers, um, y'all. As
(05:36):
it turns out, the tempay industry is holding its cards
real close to its chest. Without spending four grand on
a detailed market report, I can tell you that consumption
of plant based foods meant to replace meat based foods
is on the rise in the United States as sales
of Tofu and Tempa together we're worth about million dollars
(05:57):
and expected to increase and and are reported in that one.
Mr Hendoko, the manager of a Tempe producing co op
village in West Jakarta, expected that and I quote, with
government support and media promotion, in twenty years time, Tempe
will conquer the world. Huh. I don't like that, I do. Yeah,
(06:19):
good for you, Tempe. And now it's time to talk
about mold. Wait what Yeah, aren't we talking about mold?
Oh yeah, we're talking about mold. We are. But first
we're going to pause for a quick break for a
word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsor. Yes, okay, So,
(06:47):
as we mentioned, this is a mold modified fermented product.
Take it away, Lauren. Yes, she's so excited. Ah, so
is this the first time we've gone in depth on mold.
I I mean we we we covered fungus during our
episode on mushrooms, and this is sort of an offshoot
of that, which is sort of a fungus fun I
(07:09):
am so excited it is. And we did get to
try that mold. Remember when we did that, right, absolutely, Yeah,
one of the mold culture starters out at Homon and Finch.
Thank you. With that pot is combined, we can remember
the name of one of these restaurants we're talking about. Okay,
So the easiest way to explain how the mold and
tempe works is by explaining how you go about making tempe.
(07:33):
And I'm going to roll with the example of soy
tempe for simplicities sake here. So okay, you start with
soybeans raw or dried, though if they're dried, you have
to soak them first to make sure that they are
soft enough to dhole, because you've got to get rid
of that tough seed coat or hull to make the
nutritious bits of the beans available for the fungus to eat. Beans.
(07:58):
You cook the hold beans until they're all dente, then
cool to room temperature, and then you're ready to grow
some tasty, tasty mold. The same way that you would
add a starter culture to milk to make yogurt, or
two dough to make sour dough bread, or to plant
juice to make beer or wine. You add a starter
culture to soybeans to make tempe. You're looking for the
(08:20):
microorganisms to develop the flavors and textures that you want
in the finished product. The starter culture might be a
dried mix that you've bought, or it might be a
little bit of your last batch of tempe. Again, the
same as in sour dough production. Additional microbes like yeasts
or lactic acid bacteria are often a part of the
starter culture for tempe, but let's concentrate on the mold
(08:42):
for right now. Let's two specific types of mold fungus
are usually used to make tempe. Both in the Ryzopus
genus are only goosporus and are a rise a rise
a pus. By the way, we were talking about this
before we started, and our are amazing engineer for the day,
Tyler Klang pointed out that it sounds like a character
(09:05):
from ThunderCats. It does, and it does, and also going
to be a character in the upcoming the dunker script.
And if you've forgotten what the dunker is, we haven't.
Oh no, no, never forget the dunker. Okay, So Rise
Rispus mold. As it turns out, these types of mold
(09:25):
are really useful in food production for a few different reasons. First,
they break down some plant cells so that they can
eat the nutrients within, which also happens to make those
nutrients more available for us to digest. Second, their poop
is just hella tasty and nutritious. They naturally excrete some
compounds that we humans registers flavor, and some that our
(09:49):
bodies can use to feed our own cells. Mold poop,
mold poop a new bingo bingo card entry. Perhaps I
hope we could of talking more about mold poop. I know, right, Oh,
I think we will. Third, they don't want too much
competition from other microorganisms, so they can produce antifungal and
(10:09):
antibacterial compounds, which helps keep harmful microbes out of your
finished food product. So just like high fives all around,
Rise of Puss, Yeah we do. So you add your
starter culture to your cooked soybeans, then create an environment
(10:30):
for the microbes to do their work in a controlled way.
That's going to be a mostly sealed container, like a
zip block bag with a few holes poked in it,
or tightly wrapped banana leaves if you're going traditional. That
keeps the humidity up and prevents too many free flowing
microbes from getting in there. And rise of puss likes
to grow between about eighty five and ninety degrees fahrenheit
(10:52):
that's about two celsius, so you'll want to keep the
temperature consistently in that range. The rise of puss will
grow on the soybeans, feeding off of them and producing
shoots or fungal filaments or the micellium. If you listened
to our episode on mushrooms. In fungus, the mycelium is
(11:12):
sort of the vegetative or root system of the organism.
In mushrooms, it's what spreads out underground, which the mushrooms
then shoot up from. But in your tempe, it just
covers and binds the soybeans together. Over the course of
a day or two, your soybeans will be completely covered
by the mycelium and firmly bound together into a cake,
(11:33):
and then it's it's ready to eat or to cook
and eat if you would like, because it can be
a little bit better when it's raw. So uh yeah,
tempe tastes sort of mushroom me because it's partially a
fungus makes sense, which might sound a little bit gross,
but it's really so cool. You're you're creating proto mushroom
to eat along with your soybeans. Yeah, that's pretty pretty rad.
(11:56):
And also it looks cool. It looks so cool. Yeah,
and there are recipes online if you would like to
try to do this yourself. The kitchen has a really
thorough one that I'll try to remember to link somewhere
on social Ah y'all. I I get so excited about fermentation.
And what always gets me about fermented products is that
(12:16):
humans noticed that they happen and that the results are
tasty without having any idea why, and then spent years
and probably centuries and probably millennia unwittingly, but like really
effectively developing and farming these colonies of microorganisms too to
make their product safer and tastier. And now science can
(12:37):
tell us more or less how it works, and it's
only even more badass. Yeah, it's beautiful. It is. Thank you,
mold poop. Thank you mold poop. Um. Well, let's talk
about the history of this mold poop. Yeah, but first
let's take one more quick break for a word from
(12:58):
our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsor. Yes, okay,
So the history on Tempe is difficult to pin down,
(13:18):
and there isn't a lot easily available research on it
in English, at least from what I could ascertain from
from from what I've read, a lot of the ancient
stuff has kind of been lost to the ages, because
it's certainly not that that the people making it weren't
writing about stuff. They just weren't writing about their food
(13:38):
that much, right, But food historians think it originated on
Java in Indonesia around eight hundred, but it could be
up to one thousand years older. Once I read it's
even two thousand years older. Yeah, that's fairly large range.
The first written mentioned from the region day expect to
(14:00):
eighteen fifteen C. However, this mentioned is describing allegedly accurately
the period from sixteen thirteen to sixteen forty five. Yeah,
it's really the large range of possibility, it really is.
I was kind of staring dumbfounded at my computer. What
the reason food historians believe it may go back way.
(14:22):
Further is that it has it's so widespread on the
island of Java. Even the most remote areas have several varieties,
and it's such an important element of local cuisine. Forty
one thousand shops were using up to seventeen indigenous seeds
and press cakes by the nineteen seventies. For instance, Yeah,
written records of soybeans in Indonesia go back to seventeen
(14:45):
forty seven s, but soybeans probably were introduced with the
opening of trade routes to China in one thousand CE.
Around that time, the Chinese were using mold to make
their soy sauce in a similar method to the one
used to make ten pay. It could be that the
Chinese brought over this process and it evolved in Indonesia
from there. There's so many possibilities. Originally, tempe was most
(15:09):
likely made using high protein cake by products of the
oil pressing process for things like peanuts or coconuts, and
also the soy pulp left behind when making soy products
like tofu and various other agricultural by products that otherwise
would go to feeding livestock or to waste. An article
in Ninete described the process of making tempe pretty thoroughly.
(15:34):
Soybeans were parboiled, soaked for a couple of days, and
water steamed and spread out on bamboo trays and covered
with banana leaves. Once that time had passed, some of
the leftover mold residue from the previous batch was mixed
in and the banana leaves were loosely replaced. The author
noted that during fermentation the temperature increased anywhere from ten
to twelve degrees celsius. After some remolding a little more weighting,
(15:58):
the tempe was sliced and ready for the selling. About
tempey made with coconut press cake, it's sort of notorious
for sometimes going toxic and causing food poisoning and or death.
Oh yeah. The first written case of this was reported
in eighteen ninety five by the Dutch, but the local
said it had been around since they started making tempey
(16:19):
with coconut press cake. During times of economic hardships, these
cases would increase since people would attempt to make their
own tempay with coconut at home. Ten to twelve cases
a year reported during Indonesia's economic depression from nineteen thirty
one to nineteen thirty seven. Local legend was the angry
spirit or goddess of the Indian Ocean was behind it.
(16:41):
In the years from nineteen thirties three to nineteen thirty eight,
nine studies were published about the poisonings and the bacterium
they discovered was causing it. And I read them and
it was interesting, but also my brain was like, nope,
this this is a lot more in depth than I
was intending. A couple of studies published in the early
(17:02):
nineteen tens and twenties found that the protein in Timpei
was high quality, a good compliment to rice, and that
Tempe had a good amount of vitamins A, B one
and B twelve. Previous to that and after really not
much scientific evaluation of Tempei took place because it was
seen as an inferior food stuff for the poor. The
sentiment lasted even after Indonesia secured their independence, with the
(17:25):
president of the country from nineteen forty five to nineteen
sixty seven making statements like don't be a Tempe nation
or don't be a temp A scientists. During World War Two,
Indonesia and many surrounding countries fell under Japanese control and
Tempei became a vital food source for both the indigenous
population and prisoners of war, despite a lot of the
(17:47):
native starter cultures being lost in the war. I know
a written account from a prisoner of war credits Tempe
for preventing many deaths. The fermentation of the soybeans made
them more easily digestible for the sick prisoners of war
as well. After a long violent conflict with the Dutch,
Indonesian independence was recognized in nineteen forty nine. Some survivors
(18:12):
during and after the war chose to immigrate all around
the world, bringing Tempei with them. Tempey wasn't commercially produced
in Europe until sometime between nineteen forty six and nineteen
fifty nine. Eighteen tempe producing companies were operating out of
Europe by four and if you're like me, that's that's
very recent. I was kind of surprised. Yeah. In the US,
(18:33):
the first written mention of tempey appeared in nineteen forty six,
and Indonesian immigrants in the US produced the first commercially
available tempai in nineteen sixty one. Starting in the nineteen sixties,
the USDA and Cornell University started doing research on Tempe,
which ignited timpey scientific interests in Indonesia, inspiring headlines and
Indonesian newspapers like Tempe steps up to a higher throne.
(18:57):
These studies suggested that rise of push they go sporus
may be effective against the bacteria behind staff and other
gram positive bacteria. Here's my favorite finding, though. A study
out of Berkeley in nineteen seventy one concluded that despite
being made from beings, Tempei did not cause flatulence. That's right,
(19:19):
what's that kids saying? Beings beings a musical fruit. The
more you eat, the more you tube. Kids know it.
But not Tempe. Yeah, the molds already eaten all of
the flatulens causing compounds. Thank you, mold, Thank you. From
nine eighty four, the number of American facilities producing Tempe
went from thirteen to fifty three. Yeah. In nineteen sixty one,
(19:43):
only the second scientific look at Tempe out of Indonesia
came with this quote. The time will come when Indonesians
will be proud of their Tempe in the same way
as the Japanese are proud of their sake, the French
people of their wine, Italians of their macaroni, Indians of
their curry. The Russians of their caviare the Dutch of
their cheese. Yeah. In part thanks to the efforts of
(20:05):
the studies author a search for ways to improve traditional
tempe starters in Indonesia began in the sixties. As we
touched on the TOFI episode, the US started exporting a
ton or one fifty six hundred thousand tons in nineteen
seventy six, and about double that by three of soybeans
to Indonesia. Before that, tempe had been traditionally made out
(20:28):
of domestically grown soybeans, which were more resistant to going
rancid than the US variety, and they were larger. Well.
The U s labriety was larger, cheaper, and cleaner. Still,
sixty of imported US soybeans went to making Tempei and Indonesia.
Behind the manufacturing of tempe were forty one thousand, two
hundred and one producers, a good portion of them small
(20:50):
and family run. The tempe industry employed one twenty thousand
people and amounted to a retail value at the time
of eight five million dollars. From nineteen fifty one to
nineteen seventy six, seven thousand, two sixteen cases of poisoning
from coconut Tempei were reported in eighties, six deaths. In
(21:12):
nineteen seventy six, a reader's research project sent sixty people
throughout the U s a kit to grown their own
Tempei with a questionnaire for feedback, and the feedback was
almost universally positive. Prevention Magazine published an article in nineteen
seventy seven predicting that Tempe may become the most popular
product of the soy boom, and that quote Tempe was
(21:35):
on its way up. Other health publications of the time
predicted the same one, writing that Tempe appears to be
the most likely candidate for americanization. One health organization even
espoused the benefits of Tempe and the diets of cancer patients.
I'm pretty sure that magazine was set up entirely to
do that, though. Yeah, I couldn't get a real feel
for it, but my suspicions um. The first book describing
(21:59):
how to set up come Tempe production plants was published
in nineteen eighty, the same year the world's first commercial
Tempe burgers were introduced. Yeah. In nine two Tempe starters
could be found on Indonesian grocery shelves. One of my
favorite Tempe ad slogans all the sizzle, none of the steak.
(22:20):
Love it. If we look at Japan, we don't see
any written references until nineteen But when soy milk surge
and popularity in Japan in nineteen three, so too did
the popularity of Tempe and production grew correspondingly. A year later,
Japan at the largest Tempe company in the world. Yeah,
there was sort of a frenemy thing that happened with
(22:43):
NATO and Timpe fermented soy products versus fermented soy products.
Yeah um. An article published in nine eight three came
with this headline NATO that doesn't smell even young people
like it. Okay, And remember that Indonesian tempe researcher from earlier.
(23:05):
He returned to his home country and after researching in
the US and wrote of the occasion, Tempe is no
longer considered in an inferior food. Nowadays, Indonesians are as
proud of their Tempe as the Japanese are of sake
and French of their wine. Exclamation point warms my heart
so much. It is it is something to be proud of. Yeah,
(23:30):
it's a I mean, it's it's a delicious and useful food.
It's cheap and it's real nifty. It really is. I
wish that more of the history was available and clear,
So get on it, anyone out there who has the
ability to do so. Yeah, we would greatly appreciate it
here at Food Stuff, we very much would. Yes, but
(23:50):
that brings us to listen. Yes it does, it does
episode listen to mail h Okay Jason wrote back around
the turn of the century, I had a gig working
at a little bar that featured several drinks that ended
(24:10):
in teeny lemon dropped martini, Apple tini, choco tini rimmed
with hot chocolate powder, no less. You get the idea.
This was also around the time when sex in the
city was getting really big. From the time I started
to the time I left, there was a noticeable increase
in the number of cosmopolitans we served every night. If
(24:31):
you have never had a cosmo, it is simply vodka,
orange flavored liqueur and a splash of cranberry juice. To
give it the pink color. We used slightly better ingredients
absolute citron and controux, but it is a pretty stiff drink.
If you are more used to sweet and fruity cocktails
and being compassionate and customer oriented people that had spent
(24:53):
a number of years in the restaurant industry. On slower nights,
when a table ordered around of Cosmos, we would place
bets on him and he would be sent back because
the drinks were too strong. While it was never on
the menu, we ended up offering a Cosmo pineton where
we would add some pineapple juice and grenadine for those
that discovered Carrie Bradshaw's favorite drink was a bit too
(25:16):
much for them. It also seems we had a bit
of a Churchill fan that's regular at the bar. He
would order a dry martini with these instructions, just whisper
the word for muth as she poured the gin. Please.
I definitely I responded this email and I told him
that I had a friend and she turned twenty one.
I can't remember her, but we were at a bar
and I'd never seen sex in the city, but all
(25:38):
the rest of them had, and they all ordered Cosmos
and they definitely were like, oh, oh, this is a
class vodka. This is very strong, and they all politely asked,
can you put a little something in here? Yeah? I
think I got like a Bahama breeze or something much
more gentle. These are one young day. These young days,
(26:00):
you're still discovering what you like. Oh. Absolutely, yeah. And
I don't think I had a Cosmo until after I
started watching Sex in the City because one of my
boyfriends really liked it. And but that was like after
the show had been off the air for a couple
of years, so I was old enough to appreciate a
glass full of vodka. Um, Megan wrote, I just recently
(26:25):
discovered your podcast, actually sort of just discovered podcasts in general. Huh.
And I've been listening through to at least two episodes
a day. Thank you. I just finished the Pineapple episode.
I was surprised that SpongeBob was the only example of
Pineapple in the media. Everyone in Canada emailed you about Caesar's,
but not everyone in Canada emailed you about a Nana's. No,
(26:48):
no one did. You're the first, I believe. And here
she inserted a picture. Yeah, and I tried to scare
Lauren with it, but it didn't work. Yes, sorry, I
already done got scared by it at my desk. Um,
are you trying to think of the words to describe it,
I am it's it's this pineapple puppet. It doesn't look pleasant.
She looks like how I imagine someone who's been drinking
(27:12):
and smoking their entire life hard and never sleeps like
picture that in a pineapple, but as a pineapple also
is like big green lips and half lidded eyes, a sad,
droopy pineapple crown of hair. This creepy anthropomorphic pineapple taught
(27:34):
us to speak French on a program we watch in
elementary school on those old TVs on cards called tele Francois.
There are clips on YouTube. Check it out. Yeah, totally
worth checking out. I it's delightful. I thank you, Yes,
thank you. I was shocked and then very pleased. It's
(28:00):
horrifying and perfect. So yes, definitely go look that up.
Should you be so intrigued? Um, and thanks to both
of them for writing us. You too can send us
an email. We would love to hear from you. Keep
sending the pictures of pets with food names. Please do please,
day please, it's the very best. It is. Our email
(28:23):
is a food stuff at how stuff works dot com,
where also on social media you can find us on
Facebook and Twitter at food stuff hs W and on
Instagram at food stuff. We hope to hear from you.
Thank you so much to the aforementioned Tyler Claying, our
audio engineer for the day, and our super producer Dylan Fagin.
Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots
(28:43):
mar good things are coming your way
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